


Too Late

by thatluckyrabbit



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Guardians of the Galaxy - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Angst, Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Hurt No Comfort, Loss, M/M, Sad AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2014-09-15
Packaged: 2018-02-17 11:09:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2307470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatluckyrabbit/pseuds/thatluckyrabbit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He couldn't save him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Too Late

**Author's Note:**

> I am so SO sorry. I like writing angst though, so this plot bunny came to mind after seeing some REALLY sad fanart on tumblr.
> 
> again, SO sorry!

 

He was too late.  
  
It was made quite clear that he'd been too late when he lifted the much smaller creature into his arms. Rocket was limp and so terribly cold in his arms, but Groot had hope anyway that he was just asleep.  
  
"I am... Groot?" _(Rocket?)_  
  
The flora colossus waited with batted breath, hoping for some type of movement (even the smallest sign of life; _anything_ ), but nothing came. Rocket simply stayed still, but he looked so peaceful with his eyes closed that he almost looked asleep. Maybe he _was_ sleeping, Groot figured, and it would take some time for him to wake up after his ordeal. Surely he would wake up.  
  
He _had_ to wake up.  
  
But when Groot brushed a vine against Rocket's cheek, he knew. And when he put his head against the raccoon's much smaller chest, listening for any sign of a heartbeat, there was only silence. And the silence was practically deafening.  
  
Groot slumped forward to the ground, clutching the limp form of his best friend, his lover, the _love_ of his life, in his arms. "I am Groot...?" _(Rocket...?)_ He tried weakly, and it practically came out in a small whimper. "I... am Groot..." _(Rocket... please...)_  
  
He shook him slightly, still holding onto the belief that the raccoon was just asleep—nothing more than asleep, even if the dried blood here and there and the torn out flesh in his back where his scars would have been said otherwise. But Groot knew. He knew deep down, but it was such a horrible truth that he refused to believe. Rocket was tough, surely he could have survived all of this... Surely he must have... Right?  
  
"I am Groot..." _(Rocket... please... come back...)_ Groot tried again, weakly. "...I am... _Groot.._." _(Please, you can't... you **can't** leave me...)_  
  
He couldn't hold on any longer. He couldn't pretend Rocket was just asleep, because the longer he stared at him, the more he knew, the more the horrible truth set in that Rocket was actually dead.  
  
And instead of anger for the ones who did this to Rocket—the bastard Halfworld scientists who brought Rocket back to the very place where he'd been tortured all those years ago—there was only a hollow pain in Groot's chest where all the love for Rocket used to be. Now there was only a hole, completely hollow and empty, and it hurt more than anything he'd ever felt before. It felt like a piece of him had died, and in many ways, it had.  
  
Groot clutched Rocket's limp form to his chest, holding him close, afraid to ever let go again (knowing that letting him go was what caused this to happen to begin with). The tears blurred his vision, and the pain in his chest increased the longer the realization set in: Rocket was _dead._  
  
"I... am... Groot," Groot choked out, holding the limp raccoon closer against his chest. _(Rocket... R-Rocket...)_  
  
Rocket was... **_dead._**  
  
"I.. am..." _(I'm... I-I'm...)_ "...Groot..." _(...so... sorry...)_  
  
And he couldn't save him.

 


End file.
